SESSION HIGHLIGHT
Winning Relationships and Elevating Sales Leadership
Tuesday Oct. 7 | 4:45 P.M. - 5:45 P.M.
This engaging panel discussion is designed for leaders in the staffing and recruiting industry who are looking to sharpen their competitive edge. It will bring together industry-leading sales experts to share proven strategies, actionable insights, and success stories that drive growth in a fast-paced, competitive market. We talked to panel moderator Casey Jacox, a 20-year staffing top producer and executive who is now an author, speaker, and executive coach, to dive into what this panel is all about.
Hi Casey! What made you want to put together this panel?
The reason I wanted to do a panel this year is that I have spoken at ASA the last few years, and I wanted to mix it up! I’m thrilled about the diverse panel we have put together, you are going to hear from C-suite experts at TempWorks, Randstad and Adecco. I like the group because they cover a broad range of expertise, everything from software to perm placement, direct hire, offshoring, you name it.
One thing I have found in my coaching business is that everyone is looking for secret sauce. Too often, it’s right in front of us. It’s the fundamentals. The fundamentals still win! In this panel, we will talk fundamentals as well as lessons learned in the past year from these leaders. What are your most prominent blind spots, how you coach sales leaders different than 12 months ago, what’s wasting time in your sales process, etc.
What can Staffing World attendees expect to gain if they attend?
They’re going to gain real life, tactical, actionable advice. They will learn about spending time on the right deals at the right time, about how to be better at follow-up. Learning not to make the same mistakes the panel made, learning how to win people.
In my own career, I’ve been through it all. I spent 20 years at KForce. In that time, we had big wins, big deals, big crashes – everything! Losing 60 consultants overnight and still be breathing. In this panel, you’re get people who have walked the walk. The three words I’m really passionate about are humility, vulnerability, and curiosity. I encourage it my clients, and you can expect it from this panel.
It’s a tough market for staffing right now. What are some ways for staffing leaders to approach market challenges?
I think the market is an excuse not to succeed. I used to tell all colleagues in Kforce, has anyone seen a government official hold a press conference and say every single company in the area is on a hiring freeze? Did I miss it? They are out there - it’s up to us to go find them. If your targets aren’t asking for help, maybe you can help them in other ways. It’s all about learning to ask the right questions. Your target may be semi happy with their current supplier, but if you ask the right question maybe you can get them to see where they are falling short. If we start the day with belief, and clarity of who you are going after, and you put in the reps, results will come. It’s hard right now, but it’s hard for everybody. If you can ask the right question, it’s going to make a bigger impact than those 48 emails you sent before.
You published a book called “Winning the Relationship, Not the Deal” and have an LLC called Winning the Relationship. Talk to us about what winning the relationship means to you?
The phrase came to me toward the back half of career at KForce. I’m traveling to Dallas, working with a younger sales team. I told them, we’re not going to win every deal. But we’re going to win people. Let’s say we lose to ABC, I have two choices. I can lose, and never call them again. Or I can lose, and follow up with them, and say thanks again for giving me a chance to compete, I’m bummed that we weren’t the ones to get it done, but I wanted to follow up that you had a great outcome. And three things would happen. They would either say, ‘yes Casey, thanks for following up, they are great’. Or they would say, ‘we actually haven’t even heard from your competitor, but the consultants are working out fine’. Or third option, ‘one consultant actually backed out, can you send someone?’ So I would pick up low hanging fruit just by following up, which most people don't want to do because their egos get in the way. And that's where I said, we have to win the relationship, not the deal. And it just hit me, that’s the name of the book! So then I left KForce and spent every single day writing.
The book is all about the lessons I learned being the #1 producer for 10 straight years. How did I do it? There are six main things:
#1) Bringing positive energy to every meeting. I want everyone who has an interaction with me to think, ‘that guy was different! I've never seen anybody ask questions like that before.’
#2) Expectation management. I always set expectations, good or bad. Sometimes when you have bad news, you might not want to make that call yet - but do it anyway. You always set expectations so that your client is never surprised.
#3) Being the best listener I could be. Hearing is subconscious, listening is conscious. So that means I turn off my notifications, I look them in the eye, I ask for permission to take notes.
#4) Documenting in CRM. It helps you seem smarter than you are. If I’m talking to a CEO and he mentions a golf tournament, I’m noting it down. And the next time we speak, the first thing I'm going ask him is, ‘Hey, good to see you! Tell me how your golf tournament went.’
#5) Practicing. Sales people don’t like to practice. But it’s important to practicing your message, practice asking questions, which requires us to keep our ego checked.
#6) Patience. You have to meet people where they are. If you force it, they are going to resist you. But if I consistently follow up with genuine intent, with humility, with curiosity, and I make it about them over time, I'm going to win people.
What’s one practical takeaway you want people to leave the panel with?
People will learn many fundamentals that will help them stand out when they commit to these habits. That is hat truly separates people in life: doing the little things consistently, where others choose complacency.
Thank you Casey for speaking with us about the panel and sharing your hard won knowledge! You can find his panel at Staffing World on Tuesday Oct. 7 from 4:45 P.M. - 5:45 P.M.
About the Author:
Casey Jacox Sales & Executive Leadership Coach, Author, Podcaster, and Keynote Speaker
With over 25 years of business experience, Casey's leadership helps companies emphasize building relationships, not just transactional business deals. He's a father, a husband, a coach, a podcaster, a speaker, and a business leader who is the same person in and out of work. Over his entire career, adversity has always made him stronger. Casey always leans in on curiosity while maintaining a positive attitude! While at Kforce, Casey was the number one sales rep nationwide for ten years consecutively before becoming President of Client Strategy and partnerships. In that role, Casey was crucial in driving a sales transformation and providing executive-level support for large customers. In March of 2019, Casey left Kforce as the firm's all-time leading salesperson in the nearly 60-year company history to begin writing his debut non-fiction book, ""WIN the RELATIONSHIP – Not the DEAL."